Aquatic mussels that hitch a ride on boats could carry a cost of at least $75 million annually if they make their way into lakes, rivers and irrigation canals, according to Alberta Environment.

The invasive species, zebra and quagga mussels, are spreading throughout the western United States and Eastern Canada — making it as far west as Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba.

There’s no record of the non-native mussels in Alberta waterways, but several infested boats were intercepted last year.

The province estimates it would cost about $75 million in annual losses if they were to establish themselves in Alberta’s lakes and rivers.

“With invasives, it’s hard to come up with dollar values,” said Kate Wilson, aquatic invasive species program co-ordinator with Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development. “Because they have been around in the Great Lakes area for almost 30 years, we can start to draw some what-if scenarios so that’s everything from water diversions, our irrigation canals and infrastructure, which is one of the bigger ticket items, losses to the fisheries and tourism associated with that, even things like decreased property values.

“We believe it’s actually a conservative estimate,” she added.

It’s a major concern for organizations dealing with water in the province.

Erwin Braun, general manager of the Western Irrigation District, said the mussels would damage their 1,100 kilometres of canals and pipelines transporting water to Albertans.

“It would clog our pipelines and our pumps and our screens and our intakes,” he said. “Our infrastructure would be at risk.”

Braun said it would also affect farmers, municipalities and tourism in the province.

“We think prevention is the way to go,” he said, noting a reservoir such as Chestermere Lake is enjoyed by a lot of boaters. “We want people to know that if they are going to travel into areas that have the mussels and they bring their boats back, to get them cleaned so they don’t bring the mussels into Alberta.

“Once they’re in, it’s very difficult to get them out.”

As a result, the province is developing a five-pronged approach to prevent the mussels from invading Alberta waters.

Wilson said the priority is inspecting boats coming into Alberta this summer on four major highways from the eastern provinces and the U.S.

“We’re targeting the eastern border due to the Lake Winnipeg situation,” she said, noting the invasive mussels were found there in October 2013. “The other really big risk is snowbirds and people who boat in the Southwestern U.S.”

Popular boating destinations such as Lake Powell and Lake Mead are all infested with quagga mussels.

“We have a lot of boaters, a lot of snowbirds, people who will go down from Alberta to buy a boat or take their boat down for a week or half of the year even and come back and not know they are inadvertently bringing hitchhikers,” said Wilson. “This is really a risk to our resource.”

The mussels eat by filtering water and removing microscopic organisms, depleting a lake of food sources for native fish. The water also becomes much clearer, leading to higher plant growth and wreaking havoc on boats.

It can also lead to algae outbreaks and widespread bird die-offs.

In 2013, Wilson said there were seven boats with the invasive mussels found coming into Alberta.

“They were going to very popular high-traffic areas like Sylvan Lake, Pigeon Lake, Slave Lake, Wabamun and Hay River,” she said, explaining that states south of Alberta have been intercepting those boats before they cross the border.

Other initiatives being planned by Alberta include an education campaign (called the Clean, Drain, Dry your boat program, which will include signage installed at lakes) this summer and the continuation of a monitoring program that started last summer.

“We got to 55 waterbodies last summer and all came back negative,” said Wilson, noting the list of lakes will change this year and coincide with regular water quality monitoring. “We will focus on the high-profile lakes that have the most boat traffic and the highest population densities.

“The only environmental factor we can use as a predictor is calcium levels, because they have to have calcium to grow their shells so we’ve developed a risk map so it’s about marrying that with the boat traffic.”

The province is also developing a response plan in the event the mussels show up in Alberta and has a 24-hour hotline (1-855-336-2628) to report any concerns about the mussels.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.